Handheld device to read comics

Zero-Cool

ah crap, thankfully there a bit more relaxed about it in Shannon

Can anyone tell me what the buttons are for on the page left of the homescreen. There are 4 buttons, one is for the wireless and one is for brightness. What are the other 2 for?

DVD-Lots

The icons are Wireless, GPS, Synch and brightness in that order. I have them on my phone too, very handy for quick access.

DVD-Lots

I have to say that after using it for almost 6 hrs yesterday, I am well impressed. For the money it does exactly what it says on the tin. Comics look great, books look great, games play great (except for Ice Age Village which comes up with "Your device is not compatible, please ask for a refund" even though the game is free!) and the internet is perfect.

Haven't tried HDMI yet as I am waiting on a cable ( I only went and purchased a standard cable, didn't realize I needed a mini HDMI! ) but played a few clips from youtube and they looked amazing, especially the Avengers HD Trailer at 1080p.

Battery life was over 6 hrs on 1st charge and that was with the kids playing games for a good 3+ hours, wifi on all the time and brightness up full. The capacitive screen is good, not great like the screen on the Samsung Galaxy lets say but you get used to it pretty quick. The processor is pretty good for a single core, only really chugs when installing an app and trying to do something else but again, to be expected.

The only thing I have to complain about is the weight, it is a bit heavy to be holding for too long in one hand while reading, it's no Kindle weight wise but that's to be expected with everything else it does. Oh and make sure you have a Micro SD card, I have a 16GB one on order as the 128MB one I had lying around just doesn't cut it tbh!!!

As a general user I would not be looking for anything special out of this unit. It was bought solely for games for the kids, comics and books for myself and for the wife to browse the web instead of hogging my PC. It delivers on all fronts and will hopefully be a good media player once I get the cable sorted. I'd score it a 9/10 overall for the price range it is at.

Zero-Cool

Well thats 3 happy customers, someone should put this on Bargain Alerts if it's not already there. That brightness button on the left is great. Low, Medium and High at the touch of a button makes it handier for reading comics in low light and then switching back for browsing and games.

In the File Browser, it looks like the default place to store files is /MNT/FLASH. I think I better get an SD card.

DVD-Lots

Here's what I ordered, a steal at that price I think....

http://www.mymemory.co.uk/Micro-SDHC/Kingston/Kingston-16GB-Micro-SD-%28SDHC%29-Card---Class-4-%2B-SDHC-Adaptor

longhalloween

Did either of you get the correct charger in the box?

Zero-Cool

No, had to buy an adapter in Argos.

DVD-Lots

I did, standard 3 prong charger, didn't have to purchase one thankfully.

longhalloween

sheehy83 wrote: »

No, had to buy an adapter in Argos.

I email the sellers on Wednesday about the charger and they replied today. The correct adaptor is in the post now

longhalloween

sheehy83 wrote: »

No, had to buy an adapter in Argos.

I emailed the sellers on Wednesday about the charger and they replied today. The correct adaptor is in the post now

pleasant Co.

How's the battery life on this thing? is there expandable memory (8gb is a bit on the teeny side)

Had an ipad2 for a little while but barely used it (even though it was great, just not worth the price for the use I was getting out of it) but i'm kinda interested in having a tablet for fcuk about with and it would make a handy remote vnc access point too.

DVD-Lots

Battery is really good, getting 5/6hrs use with full brightness and wireless, not sure about a full charge and idle as I literally unplug it when I get home and it gets used 'till the battery is nearly out again.

You can stick up to 32GB SD Card into so that should cover most needs.

pleasant Co.

DVD-Lots wrote: »

You can stick up to 32GB SD Card into so that should cover most needs.

I wonder if it could go higher? using a SDXC card formatted to Fat32.....hmmmm I'll have to investigate further :pac:

Zero-Cool

Hey lads, wonder if any of ye can help. Turned on my zt-280 last night. The ZT PAD logo came up on the screen as usual. I left it down for a minute and when I came back, the screen was black but pressing the power button did nothing. I had just fully charged it yesterday. I pressed power button multiple times as well as holding it down for long periods but no joy, it's completely dead. I plugged the charger back in and it was showing the red light meaning it was charging. When I was charging it yesterday, it had a red light and I waited for the light to go off before unplugging it.

Is there a reset hole on this or am I screwed?

DVD-Lots

Happens to me all the time!!! The reset button is on the very left on the bottom, small paper clip or pin will reset it, just press for a second or two, then press the power button and it should reboot fine. I panicked too the first time it happened........

Zero-Cool

Thanks man, gonna give this a go! Haven't heard back from aliexpress yet. Hope this fixes it

Zero-Cool

Worked!!! Legend DVD-LOTS! Phew, it was an early birthday present and it's my bday this week. Would have been bad if I had to send it back so soon.

DVD-Lots

Good stuff!!!! It's a pain when it happens so I always keep a paper clip in my wallet when on the road, just in case!!

Sesudra

I see yis are all in love with your zt-280s but just thought I'd add my handheld comic reader experience. I got the Samsung Galaxy 8.9 tablet a few weeks back and I love it! Screen is crystal clear, the comics look great on it. I use Perfect Viewer which I find really good, the bookshelf is easy to navigate and you can customize the touchscreen set up whatever way you want (I have it set so touching the left and right side of the screen turns the pages and touching the middle brings up the main menu).

It does have a view downsides - 13 GB storage, which isn't huge, and no way to put in extra storage also, the battery life isn't great, between reading the comics and looking up stuff online, I end up charging it every two days.

I picked it up for just over €300 and I'd highly recommend it!

longhalloween

Sesudra wrote: »

I picked it up for just over €300

Sesudra

Well, when i say "I" picked it up, it was a significant birthday, so really the OH paid for it

Zero-Cool

Hey lads, how isw yer Zenithink c91's doing?

Mine isn't booting up properly. Pressing the power button bringsup lines across a white screen and turns into a black screen after a few seconds. I pressed the reset button with a pin and held it for a few seconds but no joy, pressing the power button just brings up the screen with the lines again.

Anyone else get this or know to fix it?

vicwatson

Have read this thread, they all seem to be a bit hit and miss, wrong adaptors, dead pixels, having to reset etc etc.

Sheedy did you complain to the shipper regarding the matters you had? If so what was the feedback?

Cheers

longhalloween

vicwatson wrote: »

Have read this thread, they all seem to be a bit hit and miss, wrong adaptors, dead pixels, having to reset etc etc.

Sheedy did you complain to the shipper regarding the matters you had? If so what was the feedback?

Cheers

Well for the price of them it was half expected. Mine is working away grand, apart from a strange glitch in that the battery level on the screen stays constant no matter how much I charge it.

Basically it says I have a low battery for about 7 hours straight. There's a new patch from Zenithink out so I'm going to install that when I get home.

Also I had a problem where if I tapped the back of the device the screen would flicker black and white lines. I opened it and it turned out the ribbon cable connector was half open, so the cable had room to wiggle about. I closed it and put some tape across it which solved the problem.

Zero-Cool

I sent numerous e-mails and was basically told since it is over 3 months old (conveniently), they cannot ship me a new one and I am responsible for shipment so I left it at that.

I bought an Archos 101 G9 in Argos last week for 180 euro. Going flying it but now things keep popping up on the screen as if someone is pressing all over the screen. I think I might have to bring it back. Not having the best luck with tablets Still refuse to pay 500 quid for on tho!

Zero-Cool

Right, after a few weeks of touchscreen problems with the Archos 101 and all troubleshooting done, I brought it back to Argos and they gave me another one. Had it one day before the same problems occuring. When you power it on, the 'back' button keeps flashing as if someone is constantly pressing it so I can't open anything, can't even power it off without doing a force close. I installed new firmware, recalibrated touchscreen and factory reset and still the same issues.

I don't know if anyone else has one of these and if it works okay for you but 2 in a row with the same touchscreen problems is awful. Atrocious piece of hardware. At least Argos gave me a full refund.

My search for a comic reader continues although I don't think I'll get one under 200 euro. The high end galaxy tabs and ipads are too expensive for me

longhalloween

Hah, my one was going grand until I saw an update on the Zenithink website. Downloaded it and it got halfway through the installation and it froze.

Now it won't turn on.

Zero-Cool

Just used one of the lads Nexus 7 tablets and tried a comic. Can read it perfectly without zooming in (which would be my biggest gripe). Sure it looks better on the 10 inch but completely readable on the 7 inch. Gonna wait for the Android event next week for a possible price drop in the Nexus 7. If not, I might go for the Kindle Fire, if it ever gets released in Ireland!

Zero-Cool

Was about to head and get the Nexus 7 yesterday when I said I would have one more look at the Zenithink c91 again. I opened it up and saw the LCD ribbon cable was a bit loose. I secured it and the lines disappeared. Tablet working perfect again, beaming!